"Fayum Youth with Clarinet" / Author's cycle by Grigory Krotenko

The AZ Museum invites you to a solo clarinet concert. The event itself is fantastic: an evening of solo clarinet is a rare occurrence. Moreover, Evgeny Barkhatov looks as if he stepped out of a Fayum portrait. While wandering through the halls of Istanbul's Topkapi Palace, Grigory Krotenko suddenly recognized his friend in those ancient faces. Grigory Krotenko dedicates this installment of his author's cycle to the clarinetist, composer, adventurer, and dreamer Barkhatov:

"Our portrait cycle cannot ignore Barkhatov. Not because his beard grows thick. And not because he has curly hair. Barkhatov is young. Relatively. He is thin. Well, that is, normal. Thin — in comparison with me. So what if many are thin. Barkhatov plays the clarinet decently. But that is not the main thing.

In Egypt, in the desert near Cairo, there is an oasis. Now the place is known as Fayum. Earlier, before our era, it was called Crocodilopolis. Because people there worshipped the Crocodile. The Golden Crocodile. They believed the Crocodile was the creator of the universe. Our Barkhatov, of course, does not believe in the Crocodile.

In Crocodilopolis, at the beginning of our era, Greeks settled. Traditions mixed. And an amazing phenomenon emerged: Fayum funeral portraits. They were painted with tempera on wooden panels. These portraits are two thousand years old. But all this time they lay in dry sand. The colors are astonishingly fresh. The faces are alive.

Once I visited an exhibition of Fayum portraits. It happened in Istanbul. At the Topkapi Palace. I walked in the cool twilight, there were few tourists. And I thought: that's Barkhatov. And that is Barkhatov. Barkhatov is a true resident of Crocodilopolis.

You must come and look at Barkhatov. He is two thousand years old. He is alive. He is a youth. Well, 'youth' — Barkhatov is married, his daughter is almost an adult. But deep inside, Barkhatov's enthusiasm never cools. He lights up again and again. And gets very touchingly upset.

Did I mention that Barkhatov plays the clarinet quite decently?"

Program:
— Igor Stravinsky, 3 Pieces for solo clarinet
— Francis Poulenc, Sonata for two clarinets*
— Nikifor Shcherban, Carnyx
— Alexey Syumak, Cl'air

Performers:
— Evgeny Barkhatov, clarinet
— Anton Moiseenko, clarinet